First to Fly : The Unlikely Triumph of Wilbur and Orville Wright - Hardcover

James Tobin won prestigious awards in the USA both for his last book, 'Ernie Pyle's War' and for this book as work in prgress. He holds a Ph.D in history and has twice been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in journalism.

'Tobin's extraordinary book puts [the Wright brothers] into humane perspective' -- Brian Morton, Sunday Herald 20030518 'James Tobin's entertaining, well-researched book is a salutary reminder of that fact that a timely spurt can rouse us from our aeronautical complacency' -- William Boyd, TLS 20030529 'The story is compelling in itself, yet this book is larger than that story alone. It explores man's dreams, and what is required to transform a dream into reality. And it is a book that teaches us about heroism, not the kind that comes from a surge of adrenaline but the heroism that determines how one lives.' John Barry 20030529 'How two homespun Midwestern tinkerers prevailed ... in the race to achieve the miracle of flight is a tale as thrilling as it is inspirational. An utterly engrossing read.' David M. Kennedy, winner of the Pulitzer Prize 20030529 'A yeasty, richly drawn evocation of an era -- the dawn of air travel -- and of the strange, visionary, obsessed and difficult men who battled one another to claim this era in their name.' Ron Powers 20030529 'In every way a thrilling story' Justin Kaplan, winner of the Pulitzer Prize 20030529 'Extraordinarily well-written and deeply nuanced work is the best of the recent spate of books celebrating the Wright Brothers' -- Publishers Weekly 20030217 'This fascinating book... contrasts the establishment Goliath, doomed to magnificent failure, versus the small-town Davids of Dayton, Ohio.' -- Lucasta Miller, Telegraph 20030503 'James Tobin gives an exhaustive and exhausting account of the two brothers and the saga of man's first flight.' -- Gay Byrne, Irish Independent 20030601 'Twice Pulitzer prize-nominated Tobin recreates a magical time when the idea of flight was too tantalising to abandon' -- Good Book Guide 20030601 'Easy-reading, story-telling format ... an author who has clearly researched extensively into the subject ... thoroughly engrossing book' -- Western Daily Press 20031227 'The brothers were a pair of Midwestern visionaries, whose story ... illustrates the American Dream. Their efforts and achievements seem to belong to a lost era of entrepreneurial innocence' -- London Review of Books 20040205 'Easy-reading, story-telling format ... thoroughly engrossing book' -- Western Daily Press 20031227